The Shadow
by XOXMiyuki-chanXOX
Summary: The shadow...a mysterious being of darkness that robs people of their souls. Follow Zelda as she confronts her dark past, finds love, and stops the Great Shadow from stealing the people's souls...along with the help of the Smashers, of course! R&R!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Konnichiwa~! ^.- This is my first fic… I hope you like it~ ^^ Anyway, this story might seem a little boring (I know XD) at first but first chapters usually are. I will post the next chap ASAP, promise! X3 I would love to get a nice review or two…criticism is accepted; it helps! Flames will probably be ignored, though I know that some characters are a leetle OOC… (I couldn't help it :3) I'm at odds here whether or not this is more of a modern AU or not… :/ I know that this might suck, but please R&R just to make my day! ^^ I'll answer any questions or comments in my next chap.**

Disclaimer **(I don't know why people do this, it seems so obvious! XD But I'm paranoid, so yah… .lll Better safe than sorry, no? ^^)**: I do not own SSBB, Legend of Zelda, or Fire Emblem, obviously. All credit goes to Miyamoto-san and Iwata-san.

Chapter 1

Familiar Faces…

"Link! Come on, hurry up! I swear to Nayru that I will drown you in Lake Hylia if we miss that train," Zelda threatened as she tugged the Hero of Time by his forest green T-shirt that was no doubt made of some recycled material.

The young queen herself was dressed in a pale lavender spaghetti-strap wrap dress, trimmed with lace, that flowed gracefully down just above her knees, with a pair of white ballerina flats. A thick, black choker with a white rose in the center adorned her slim neck. She also wore a large silver bracelet with ancient inscriptions that were etched into its surface millennia ago. If you looked closely, you could see those symbols faintly…rhythmically glowing a sea blue, humming with power that craved to be awoken once again. Her long, elfin ears that stuck out horizontally were lined with silver earrings, as was a tradition of the Royal Family. Her long, dark brown tresses were loose, with long bangs slightly covering her left eye. She usually never wore lipstick, and this was no exception, but she did have some gloss, which gave some life to her pale rose lips.

"Seriously, Zel," the blonde hero whined, trying to pull away from the young queen's firm grasp and utterly failing. "We're not even late! It's 2:55 and the train leaves at 3:00," he noted, pointing at a giant, old-fashioned clock with Roman numerals, which looked very out-of-place in the current modern environment which was the Teleportation Station located in Nintendo City (which was the only place where worlds located in the Nintendo Galaxy could connect).

"And do you call that early?" Zelda questioned. How could he possibly be so easy-going? Zelda inquired herself. "Link, you are one of the best Smashers in the entire tournament. At least set an example by being on time…but if you won't take my advice…" she warned, her keen, stormy-gray eyes spotting a certain red-haired, Gerudo madman boarding the train, "…then consider the fact that Ganondorf is already there, and I highly doubt that you would want to get beaten by him…" she hadn't even finished the sentence before Link sped past her like a whirlwind, almost knocking the queen and her giant, black velvet duffel bag down.

"GANONDORF!" Link hollered, sprinting to the entrance of the train and ramming into the former villain.

"Watch it, dog!" Ganondorf mocked, mentioning Link's ability to turn into a wolf (the consequence of venturing into the Twilight), and shoving the Hero of Time into the train. They then proceeded to try to beat the stuffing out of each other, as usual. Zelda sighed as she strolled nonchalantly into the train.

Those two never, under any circumstances, even if plain drunk, could spend five seconds together in the same room without attempting to strangle each other.

Trying to ignore the two rivals (who now had their swords out, and were engaged in an intense battle of the wills) and finding it increasingly hard to do so, the brunette found a seat between Kirby, an adorable, pink puffball who was never satisfied when it came to food, and Falco, an anthropomorphic bird with serious attitude problems. After heaving her gargantuan duffel bag onto the sill above the seat (with a little help of magic), Zelda set out to the back of the train on the lookout for her two best friends, one of which…

"Zellie~!"

…gave Zelda a massive bear-hug from behind, causing the unsuspecting young ruler to gasp for air.

"Peach…nice…to…see you…too… Can…you…please…let go…of me now…?"

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Zellie! I'm just so happy to see you~" the girly, pink-loving, blonde princess immediately let go of Zelda, her large, stark blue eyes gazing innocently while her best friend clutched her chest, panting rapidly. Peach sported a playful pink camisole that was chock-full of red hearts, along with a light denim miniskirt and a pink heart belt, pastel pink heels, and a blue gem necklace with matching earrings. Her long, honey-blonde hair was tied into two pigtails.

"You still haven't let go of your childish ways, huh, Peach?" asked a womanly voice that came from behind Zelda. The honey-blonde-haired princess huffed in disagreement, flicking her head to the side, "I am not childish" hanging on the edge of her tongue. Zelda wheeled around, recognizing the voice of her other best friend and veteran Smasher, the bounty hunter Samus Aran.

"Yo, Zel," was the tall, emerald-eyed, 5' 11" blonde's salutation, along with a crooked smile and an awkward embrace. She was dressed in a black halter top that said "BOUNTY HUNTER" in the front, along with a black miniskirt and black boots with black star earrings and bracelet. She wore her long blonde hair in an unobtrusive ponytail.

"Hello, Sam!" Zelda greeted, hugging her best friend back. "It's been a while."

"Yep. A few years, at least. How's it been back in Hyrule?"

"It's been great…I've been happy to be back home. The citizens are completely unaware of the Twilight incident, so everything's been back to normal," Zelda replied. "I finally convinced the council to coronate me as queen, as well."

"Oh, yeah! I heard that your coronation was a few months ago, Zellie," Peach intervened. "Congrats!"

"Ah, you finally persuaded those bigoted nobles to make you queen?" Samus inquired smugly. "I'm glad! It's about time that they gave you the crown."

"I know. To convince them was a irritating task, though. They gave me at least ten different excuses to not coronate me, some of which didn't even make sense. I mean, seriously, I'm already nineteen! I should have been coronated when I was at least sixteen, as is the custom, but no. Those narrow-minded dimwits wouldn't hear of it a few years ago," Zelda ranted.

"They probably thought that you were immature or something, considering how you lost to the Twilight," Peach deliberated. "But still, it's not like you turned tail and ran, either. You stayed and fought, even though you were imprisoned, and even possessed. They should have thought of that."

Zelda blushed at the praise.

"Well, at least you're queen now," Samus said, relieved. "If anyone deserves that crown, it's definitely you."

"Thanks, you guys…" Zelda shyly looked down to the floor. "Hey, where are the newcomers? I thought that they were boarding this train…" she mused aloud.

"Ah, the newbies?" Samus pondered. "They're already at Island Delphino. I think that Master Hand is giving them a tour of the place."

"Eh, Island Delphino…?" Zelda asked in a perplexed voice, raising an eyebrow.

"Yup!" Peach chimed in. "I think that the Smash Mansion is under construction or something… Master Hand wouldn't say." She rubbed her chin thoughtfully.

That sounds strange…

Zelda tried to ignore the slight pain in her right hand, which usually happened whenever something suspicious was going on. It was hard to miss, however, the golden triangle that was glowing on her hand. She quickly hid her hand behind her back, not wanting to make the others concerned. Zelda looked over to Link and Ganondorf, who had ceased their brawl to look at their hands, which also had glowing triangles. Link and Zelda knowingly exchanged glances, their eyes both expressing: "This can't be good." Her sensitive ears could make out the goddesses whispering above in the Sacred Realm…

Nonetheless, she shrugged nonchalantly. "Who knows?" she tried to sound care-free, and succeeded. Then she added, "Maybe Crazy Hand up to one of his schemes again."

"Yes, no, maybe so," Peach rhymed indifferently.

Finally, the train conductor announced through the speakers that the train was departing, and advised the passengers to buckle up. The three girls sat in their seats to converse.

Zelda rolled her eyes as Peach began to babble on about how exceedingly handsome and brave and, well, princely, Prince Marth was, and then rant about how ridiculous it was that Zelda and Samus both had absolutely no interest in him.

Peach had had an "interest" (more like a crush) on Marth since their first day in Meelee, and she _still_ hadn't been able to form a complete sentence around him. _Ah, the things that love does to people..._Zelda groaned inwardly.

**A/N: W-Well? How was it? The ending was lame, but what about the rest? R&R please! Arigato! ^^**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: …No reviews…? ^^lll Ehe… A-anyway, this chapter is probably…HOPEFULLY…going to give me a review… . Pleeeaaassseee review! X3 Reviewers are loved, critics thanked, and flamers ignored!**

**Enjoy this chap! ^.-b**

**Disclaimer: I do not own SSBB, LoZ, FE, or any characters in this story. I only own the Shadow.**

Chapter 2

War Already

Zelda was extremely glad that the newcomers were not in the train. She knew, by experience, that they definitely would have puked all over the floor, and that wouldn't have been very pleasant in the least. She didn't, however, blame them. The Teleportation Train could be very…bumpy sometimes. After all, it wasn't exactly a walk in the park to drive a train into a different dimension.

Either way, the brunette was quite thrilled while they zoomed through time and space, a blur of colors and shapes visible through the window. After listening to some amusing chatter between her two friends and having some meditation with Lucario, her Meelee meditating buddy, Zelda mulled over what Samus and Peach had informed her concerning the Smash Mansion and the rare incident with the Triforce suddenly glowing on her hand (and Link's and Ganondorf's too). She strained her ears to see if she could catch a few words from the goddesses above, but she could only perceive vague whisperings. Zelda started as the captain's voice blared through the speakers, interrupting her concentration like a hot knife through butter:

"Arriving at destination: Delphino Plaza. We hope that you enjoyed the ride. All passengers, please dismount the train."

As she disembarked the train, Zelda inhaled deeply, her troubles momentarily forgotten as she breathed in the airy sea breeze. She could catch a glimpse of the train disappearing through a wormhole, before vanishing completely. Zelda shielded her eyes as she glanced around the island plaza. A great commotion was being caused by the nearby market-place where many piantas were hollering out prices for their merchandise, which ranged from delicious, juicy fruits and meats, to the many-colored, sweet summer dresses. A grand view of the shoreline was visible, with the clear aquamarine water glistening, the seagulls flying overhead, and many children making sand castles or splashing in the warm water while their mothers watched from afar as they read magazines, gossiped, or were getting tans while lying on colorful towels and beach mats.

"Isn't it just lovely, Zellie?" exclaimed Peach, who had come here on vacation many times being that it was in her own world.

"It's very nice here, Peach," Zelda replied, "Though it is a little too warm for my taste."

Peach rolled her eyes. "Well, duh! It's a beach! It's supposed to be hot here."

"Of course I know that! I just…didn't think that it would be so blazing hot," she finished sheepishly, fanning herself with her hand.

Zelda had had very little experience with beaches, since there really weren't any in Hyrule, but she had read plenty about them, which she thought at least counted as something.

"If you think _this_ is hot, you should see Norfair," Samus interposed. Samus was quite used to the heat, and, quite frankly, preferred it to cool weather, unlike Zelda.

"Samus. That's a _volcano_." Zelda stated exasperatedly, lifting her eyes to the heavens.

The three of them paused, chuckling, before breaking out into hysterical laughter. After their laughter had died down (and after they realized that they were attracting unwanted attention), they stood by one of the market stalls, as the rest of the Smashers had done, and waited for Master Hand to arrive with the new Smashers. While they waited, Peach talked nineteen to the dozen about how she hoped that there would be some "cute guys" among them. To Samus's and Zelda's annoyance, however, it wasn't for her own benefit, but for her friends'.

"Samus, Zelda, it really is shameful that you each haven't had at least one boyfriend," Peach chided, shaking her head.

Zelda sighed wearily, while Samus rolled her eyes in a here-we-go-again way. "What do you mean, 'at least'? How many boyfriends do you want us to have?" Samus inquired. Peach simply threw her hands in the air.

"At least one would be nice! You both are so lonely… It's really almost sad."

"Oh yes, it is just so sad that I feel like I am literally going to burst into tears where I stand," Zelda stated sarcastically, and Samus chuckled slightly.

Peach crossed her arms, a dead-serious look on her face.

"This is serious, you guys! You, Zelda, are already nineteen, and you, Samus, are twenty-two. How long do you plan to just sit on your butts? Guys have pretty much noticed already how disinterested you are! And trust me, it turns them off. Take Roy, for instance-"

"Maybe that just happens to be because we _are_ not interested, Peach," Samus interrupted.

"Peach, I'm sorry, but we are very happy by ourselves," Zelda explained. "We've been through this already," she added as Peach, frustrated, wrung her hands and sighed exasperatedly.

Their discussion was abruptly interrupted by a familiar, deep, male voice that resonated across the island. Master Hand was addressing himself to the newcomers, a fairly good-sized group, as they all walked (or floated, in Master Hand's case) over to the market-place.

"And that is the end of the tour; I hope that you all will enjoy your stay here while at the Smash Tournament-ah, there are our returning Smashers! Now if you will excuse me," he now directed himself to said returning Smashers.

"Good-day, veterans and Meeleers," he greeted.

"Hello, Master," the Smashers replied in unison.

As Master Hand was giving a tiresomely extensive lecture about the third installment of the Smash Tournament, Peach excitedly tapped Samus and Zelda on their shoulders.

"Girls, look! I see two totally hunky guys there~!" she whispered gleefully, openly pointing to two men standing next to each other, paying full attention to Master Hand.

"Don't point, for the goddesses' sakes!" Zelda whispered furiously, slapping Peach's hand down.

"Stop slapping me, Zel! They're gonna get a bad first impression of you!" Peach responded, equally furious.

"The bad first impression here is going to be yours, at this rate!" Zelda retorted.

"Guys," Samus warned, putting a finger to her lips.

One of the Smashers (namely, Fox) shushed them, but fortunately Master Hand didn't notice. The guys that Peach was pointing at, unfortunately, did. They both glanced over, sending hard glares in Zelda, Peach, and Samus's direction, probably with the intention of shutting them up…

"Look, they gave us death glares!" Peach squealed.

"I can see that quite clearly, thank you." Zelda replied, trying to regain her composure.

"But don't you get it? They noticed us!"

"In the most patronizing way possible."

…But utterly failing to do so.

Zelda, her curiosity now awakened, proceeded to examine the two men. Not that she was interested, though. Just curious.

The first man, who appeared to be in his late twenties, had short brown hair and brown eyes. He had on a grey headband that trailed almost down to the ground. He had a rough goatee that was not very neatly clipped. His clothes, or at least, whatever he had on his body, was a tight grey bodysuit with a lot of belts to hold the many weapons and gadgets that he had. Basically, he looked like your typical modern mercenary.

The second man, however, was different. He seemed to be in his early twenties. He had messy, dark azure hair that was held back by a green (or at least, what used to be green) headband. He had piercing, dark cerulean eyes. He was quite tall (even taller than Ganondorf, and that was saying something). He also had a very brawny build, and Zelda really couldn't help admiring the muscles in his arms and chest. His outfit consisted of a deep blue, high-collared, sleeveless tunic adorned with quite a lot of buckles and belts, blue armor that covered only one shoulder, baggy, cream leggings, armored boots, and finally, a tattered, flowing, crimson cape. He also carried a hefty, great, golden sword. Zelda figured that his world was probably set in the same time-frame as her world, except without the magic and fairies. But wait…what was that powerful aura that he seemed to emanate…?

_The Shadow… that robs a person of their soul…_

_A Hylian Storm and a Crimean Fire shall unite and hurl_

_This mysterious being into the bottomless hole-_

_The eternal home of demons – the DARK WORLD…_

Zelda's eyes glazed over as the goddesses whispered a prophecy that she had learned many years ago into her mind. Her hand glowed golden again.

"Already checking him out, Zellie?" came a girly giggle next to her ear. Zelda started, already frustrated by Peach's antics.

"She has a point there, Zel; after all, you _are_ staring," Samus intervened.

"You're not helping, Samus; I wouldn't be talking if I were you, anyway," Zelda retorted, noticing that Samus still hadn't taken her eyes off of that sniper yet.

"Oh, shut up!" Samus instantaneously looked to the floor beneath her to hide the blush that crept up to her cheeks.

"Anyway, I'm just trying to figure out what's that…aura…that's coming from that guy! It's like…the ambiance that you feel when you find a chosen one by some sort of goddess…"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Samus stated, along with a blank, deer-in-headlights look. Peach suddenly skipped up, (not understanding a word of what Zelda just said), obviously elated for, well, something.

"This is great! A topic of conversation~! Why don't you ask him later, Zellie?"

"Wha- That's not a question that you just walk up to someone and ask! He looks to be quite standoffish, anyway; I wouldn't even…"

"SHH! Master is going to call out names!" Samus cut short.

Master Hand, who thankfully and strangely had not noticed their overexcited banter, produced a massive, holographic list out of thin air. Many names were written out on the list, the first ones being the Smashers, and the latter ones being the novel Assist Trophies, who were assembled some paces away. Master Hand then proceeded to explain:

"Attention, Smashers and Assist Trophies! Once I call out your name, step forward and say 'here'. Then you will step over to your world's designated line." Master Hand swiftly pointed to a random, open area of the plaza, and then suddenly, the ground magically created golden, glowing shapes, which represented the worlds. They all formed a circle. "As for you Assist Trophies who have minor worlds, you will gather around the trophy shaped emblem. Now, I will start with the first tier, and we will work our way down. Understood?"

"Yes, Master," was the response, especially from the returning Smashers (the newcomers were yet to become familiar with the "yes, Master" business). Master Hand then proceeded to call out the names:

"Mario Mario!"

The world(s)-renowned, mustachioed, Italian plumber stepped out, clad in his best jean overalls and signature "M" cap.

"Here, a-Master." He then ambled over to the mushroom symbol inscribed on the ground.

"Link Ordon!"

The blonde Hero of Twilight grinned before stepping out.

"Here, Master!" Link strolled over to the Triforce symbol.

"Samus Aran!"

Zelda and Peach winked before lightly nudging Samus. She stepped out with a lopsided smirk.

"Here, Master." She walked over to the Metroid symbol.

"Fox McCloud!"

And so on it went until Zelda was called.

"Queen Zeldania Harkinian!"

Zelda skipped out and bowed, as was the custom in Hyrule when greeting an authority.

"Here I am, Master."

She marched stately to the prominent Triforce symbol where Link was. He met her there with apprehension.

"What happened? My hand suddenly glowed a few minutes ago," he asked uneasily.

Zelda sighed. "I haven't the slightest idea… All that I know is that that guy over there…" she pointed to the brawny man with the sword, "must have something to do with a prophecy that I learned a few years ago…"

"Well… Just be careful, okay?"

She smiled. "Don't worry about me; besides, I've learned enough already."

"Ike Gawain!"

The man that Zelda had been watching stepped out, his arms crossed over his broad chest.

"Here."

Master Hand regarded Ike with a little disdain.

"Say, 'Here, **Master**.'" Master Hand said slowly.

Ike raised one eyebrow quizzically.

"Here…Master."

Master Hand sighed. The large hand pointed to a fiery sword symbol, where Marth was standing leisurely, sipping a soda that he had bought.

"Go over there, where the blue-haired boy with the tiara is."

The vain prince, fortunately, didn't hear a word of what Master Hand said. A few Smashers chuckled. Ike "tch"-ed as he casually strolled over to where Master Hand had ordered him to go.

"Hmph. Newbies always have trouble with authority," Ganondorf snickered, as if he was the authority and not Master Hand.

Ike overheard, and he glared ominously at Ganondorf.

Zelda, not wanting any issues to deal with on her first day, played the peacemaker, as usual, while giving her own retort at the same time. She faced Ganondorf with her hands on her hips.

"Ganondorf, don't start. Besides, you were once a rebellious newbie yourself," Zelda snapped, pointing an accusing index finger at the terrifying man, undaunted by his height.

Ganondorf, silenced by the indignant queen, snorted and stepped back. "Whatever. Let us see how long he will last."

Zelda heard a loud shuffle and, wheeling around, witnessed Marth trying to hold back a very livid and annoyed Ike.

"Hey, hey! Calm down, now!" Marth was yelling as he was basically clutching for dear life on Ike's broad shoulders. The sight struck Zelda as a daring cowboy trying to maintain seated on a wild bull.

After some struggling, Ike finally subsided, all the while glaring daggers at Ganondorf, who simply guffawed evilly.

Zelda frantically yanked Link a safe distance away from Ganondorf after he almost smacked the dark lord upside the head with the flat of his sword. She didn't want war already…it was only the first day!

A short, shadowy figure suspended high above in mid-air espied the young queen. The figure, who was a little girl, was clad in a dark black cloak, her face hooded from the blazing heat of the sun. The figure's face wasn't visible, but from underneath the hood, a pair of fiery-red eyes glowed and whitish-blonde hair cascaded down in ringlets past the figure's feet. The dark figure smiled, long, bloody fangs protruding from her blood red lips.

"Zelda…it's been a while..." the girl whispered in a dark voice. "Let's see how long your flimsy soul will last in the light…"

And with that, she disappeared into nothingness.

**A/N: Ooooooooooh! Your first glimpse of the Shadow! R&R! ^.^b**


End file.
